“Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” - Ephesians 1:5-6

I have a friend who by many accounts is one of the strongest believers I know. He is a great teacher of God’s word who is committed to raising up others in the Lord with evidence of a fruitful ministry all around him. In spite of all that, one of the things he struggles with is accepting the unconditional love of Christ towards him. Another friend who was equally gifted and fruitful recently shared that it was easy for him to believe that God loves others but very difficult for him to accept that God loves him. Why do strong, committed believers struggle with accepting the fact that they are beloved of God? Unfortunately, there are many kingdom business stewards who struggle with accepting the unconditional love of Christ for themselves.

Jesus taught in Luke 10:27 that the greatest commandment is “to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves.” Love is a circle—as you love God, He can create an overflow of love within you that enables you to pass it on to others. But what if you do not believe that God loves you—can you really love God? Believing that God loves you is essential to loving God, which in turn is key to loving yourself, which then enables you to love others. In other words, the circle of love does not begin with us loving God, but it begins with God loving us. He first loved us, enabling us to love Him in return, which permits us to love ourselves and then to love others.

Friend, you are the beloved of God. You are His crown and jewel. You are the highlight of His creation. You are the only one made in His image and likeness. You are the one to whom He entrusted the works of His hands. You are the reason He sent His son to die on the cross. Nothing you do can add to or take away from His love for you.

When you think about God’s feelings towards you, keep these seven things in mind:

1. God loved you before you were conceived.
2. God loved you before you were born.
3. God loved you before you even knew Him.
4. God loves you unconditionally.
5. God loves you as you are.
6. Nothing you do can make Him love you more.
7. Nothing you do can make Him love you less.

You may wonder what the incentive is for loving Him, serving Him, or even obeying His commandments if God loves you without condition. We love Him, serve Him, and obey His commandments not so we can earn His love, but as an appreciation for His love for us. We can never earn His love and nothing that we do will ever be enough to deserve His love. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus, so that He can love us through His Son. He paid the price, and He is perfect and sinless (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I am the father of two beautiful girls, and if my love for them were based on their works, I would have sent them back a long time ago. They can be selfish, self-centered, and do not always do what I wish. However, my love for them does not change—it is unconditional. I loved them before they were conceived; I loved them while they were in their mother’s womb and now, I love them no matter what they do. If me, being sinful, can have that kind of love for my children, imagine the love of God for us. I have also noticed that the more I love them, the more they love me. They want to do everything they can to please me because they see how much I love them. The more they embrace my love for them, the more they want to love me in return.

What about when we face the consequences of our sin and mistakes? God loves us still. That is when God’s love is perhaps most visible. He loves us so much that He does not allow us to face more than we can bear and when we do, He always makes a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). He loves us so much that He wants us to learn from our mistakes and become better people—to become more like Him. He loves us so much that He protects us from ourselves by allowing us to learn how much we can handle and how much we cannot handle because nothing is a greater teacher than pain. He loves us so much that just like Jesus wept over Jerusalem, I believe that He weeps over us when we are going through difficulties and walking away from His perfect will for us. So remember that God loved you before you were born, He loves you unconditionally, and anything you do to make Him love you more is a sin. Accept it—you are the beloved of God. Now, share it with others.

My prayer for you today is that you will do everything in a manner that reflects God’s love, while always being reminded of His love for you as well.

Reflection: What are the 7 things God feels for you?
 
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